Medal of Honor Review
Kid Safe: Low Game Quality: Moderate
Genre: First-Person Shooter
- These
game are characterized by the viewpoint and weapons used in the title.
In a first person shooter, you are looking down the barrel of a gun as
though you yourself are holding the weapon. Likewise, as the term
"shooter" implies, the game specifically uses guns and firearms.
Internet Requirements: Moderate
- This
game features a moderate amount of internet usage. While it does have a
good deal of offline content that can be played without internet
connection; this title also offers plenty of online content which
includes a multiplayer-mode where players may compete against each other
or play together to complete the main story.
Story Summary: In Medal of Honor, you experience the trials and tribulations that the
American Special Forces endure quietly behind the scenes in countries far
from home. You play the role of multiple soldiers from different branches of
the uniformed services including "Rabbit", one of America's elite Navy
SEALS, "Deuce", a Tier 1 Special Operations Infiltrator, and Adams, one of
the Army's finest Rangers; just to name a few. You begin the game in a tactical
operation in Afghanistan after receiving a tip concerning a possible terrorist
group. From there, your soldiers are led on the fight for their lives as they are
lead through a war in Afghanistan against the terrorist group, "Al Qaeda"; a
battle that they will never forget and that some may not return from.
Kid Safe: Low
- Foul Language: High
o Medal
of Honor contains a rather high amount of foul language particularly
with the words a*s, s*it, and f*ck especially. While the language is not
used to the point that you are hearing it every several minutes in
game, it is an ever present aspect of the ongoing dialogue between
characters. This title's favorite curse word appears to be f*ck and it
is used quite often by a multitude of characters throughout the entirety
of the game.
- Violence and Gore: Very High - Not Recommended for Children
o Medal
of Honor features an extremely high amount of violence and depictions
of blood and gore. To begin, this title features a very realistic
depiction of wartime violence and, as such, players are virtually
"killing" other human beings. This particular point was emphasized to
the point that it was pulled from stores on Military bases as you are
able to play as Afghani insurgent forces and kill U.S. soldiers.
Likewise, deaths are particularly gruesome. Shooting individuals in the
head and occasionally in the chest merits a red spray of gore and
viscera out of the backside of the individual. As well, when you use
attack someone at close range, you pull out a knife and stab them,
causing them to slowly slump over and die before you with a shocked and
terrified look in their eyes. Finally, should your character suffer any
fatal injuries, he drops down dead in a first person view; most often
with a single hand twitching and going limp before the camera.
- Sexually-Related Content: Very Low
o To
the extent of the reviewer's knowledge, this game features no
depictions or references to sexually-related content or nudity.
- Use of Drugs and Alcohol: Very Low
o To the extent of the reviewer's knowledge, this game features no depictions or references to drug or alcohol usage.
Game Quality: Moderate
- Graphics / Visuals: Moderate
o The
graphics and visuals for Medal of Honor are truly a mixed bag. To begin
with the good; the title features visually well-done characters with
the soldiers' depictions as well as the surrounding landscapes and
buildings being presented rather nicely. While these graphics are not
the best on the market, they are far from being the worse. On top of
this, the game features some of the finest and most realistic dust and
lighting effects that I have seen in any title so far; this makes a
particularly strong impact on gameplay given most levels take place in
the middle of the Afghani desert. Finally, this title makes use of the
"Frostbite engine" in the multiplayer mode, a feature exclusive to the
developers of the game that allows buildings and environments the
ability to be destroyed by the players; something most games do not
have.
o Sadly,
for every positive point concerning the game's visuals there is an
equally negative point, as well. To begin, the presentation of fire and
things such as falling mud or rock from explosions is absolutely
horrible. Explosions do not send pieces of earth or buildings flying,
but instead rain down solid streaks of color. Likewise, the fire
animations appear like simply a rotation of pictures of fire placed into
the game; one was even so bad that it appeared stretched like it had
been photo-manipulated rather than like a large area was on fire. On top
of this, the game suffers from graphical glitches; a perfect example
being how, when sliding across the ground, there were several occasions
that I saw under the animation of the ground and saw breaking of
the 3d model. Finally, the "Frostbite engine" that so drastically
improves the environment visuals in the multiplayer was NOT available in
the single player campaign; making you feel almost like you are play
two separate games.
- Audio: Very High
o The
audio quality of Medal of Honor deserves some of the highest praises of
any game we have reviewed so far. This comes as a bit of a shock due to
the very obvious problems that the graphics and visuals suffered. I
will begin with what stood out the most to me: the audio quality of the
gunshots in the game. I admit that this sounds like a very strange thing
to focus on, however it deserves a very special mention as it is rarely
done right and instead just replaced with generic sounds and
explosions. Instead, the guns actually sound correct in Medal of Honor
when fired and each one varies from one another exactly how the firearms
do in real life; not to even mention the sound of bullets whizzing past
you and landing around you, as I might go on for a while. On top of
this, the voice acting is truly a treat to behold. Characters and voice
actors truly emote; providing a masterful performance that lends an
intense and fulfilling experience to listen to that brings you along for
a rollercoaster of emotion and action. This game is a real treat for
anyone with a high quality sound system.
- Gameplay / Playability: Moderate
o While
Medal of Honor generally aims for a high level of gameplay, it suffers
from an unpolished performance. To begin, the game attempts to be very
user friendly; using controls generally accepted as the norm for the
majority of first-person shooters on the market. It also features a full
explanation of every control before ever throwing you into battle. This
same level of courtesy is also shown through-out the game in the
sections of the game that allow you to use a specialized, high-powered
sniper rifle, a special laser-marker that allows you to call in air
strikes, and a section where you are in the gunner seat of an Apache
helicopter. The game also features an Auto-Aim function that assists
players in firing against enemies; refocusing the gun onto an enemy if
they are close to them so that players do not waster their ammunition.
And, should you run out of ammo, Medal of Honor is one of the first
titles I have seen that allows you to use your partners as ammo cases;
allowing you to request ammo from them and instantly be refilled if you
are low.
o Despite
the game's attempts to be user-friendly, it feels like it needed more
polish before being released. The game suffers from an unusually high
amount of glitches that; some of them being so bad as to heavily effect
gameplay. One that comes to mind is one time, while watching a passing
patrol and waiting for them to pass, one of the soldiers was randomly
rocketed into the sky for no apparent reason and hit the ground several
seconds later; causing the other soldiers to instantly start attacking
us as their compatriot had been injured (even though it was not by our
doing). Another time, while online, I hid against a wall and hit the
button to change my weapon. Instead of changing my weapon I was phased
through a wall and put OUTSIDE of the building I was just in. These are
just several of the glitches I ran into; I don't care to list them all
as said list is a little large.
- Dollar-Value: Low
o Medal
of Honor has a low dollar-value. To begin, the game suffers from
strange graphical problems as well as a fair amount of glitches
(previously mentioned above). Attempting to overlook this fact, the
single player story, like most of the first-person shooters being
released today, is rather short. The single player campaign will only
garner about 5 to 8 hours of gameplay; double this if the player wishes
to play the "Tier 1" mode which is the single player story but with a
timer attached to it that you are attempting to out-run. Likewise, the
multiplayer is not very impressive: featuring very few maps, a
lackluster leveling system, 3 static types of soldier that you can play,
and very little customizability. This game proves rather unimpressive
and your average player will have experienced everything it has to offer
within a week.
Recommendations
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